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The Smurfs are back again, and this time the little blue critters are returning in full live-action/animated hybrid style with an all-star voice cast that includes Rihanna, Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, and industry veterans Kurt Russell and John Goodman. The first trailer for the movie, which was originally set to be released on February 14 until it was pushed back to July 18, has now delivered a first look at this newest in a long line of new Smurf properties coming soon.

Smurfs will arrive in theaters and have to compete with some of the biggest blockbusters of the year, a weight that even Hefty Smurf could struggle to lift when the time comes. Jurassic World Rebirth, Superman, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are all piled into a summer that is hoping to avoid a similarly packed release schedule in 2023, which saw many huge movies disappoint at the box office.

Fans get their first sneak-peak at the world of The Smurfscourtesy of Rihanna.

In a February 5 Twitter post, Rihanna gave audiences a glimpse into the upcoming The Smurfs feature film from Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Studios. The short video showcases the Smurf Village with a television set seated between two houses. As the camera closes in, the TV turns on, just long enough for Rihanna's Smurfette to blow audiences a kiss as the promise of "Trailer Tomorrow" appears on-screen.

Related'i'm Happily Retired': Chris Evans Shuts Down Rumors of MCU Return in Avengers: Doomsday

Chris Evans continues to dispel rumors that he will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the next Avengers movie.

in my blue era 👀💙 pic.twitter.com/n44TmKwcHO— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 5, 2025

New that Rihanna had signed on for the role of Smurfette was confirmed back in mid-2023. Paramount and Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins...

MeTV Toons has a treat to drop into everyone’s pic-a-nic basket.

MeTV’s seven-month-old offshoot dedicated exclusively to classic animation is getting read to launch “The House of Hanna-Barbera,” a weekday and Sunday-afternoon programming block showcasing characters sired by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Secret Squirrel, Snagglepuss, Pixie and Dixie, Wally Gator, Touché Turtle, Magilla Gorilla, Atom Ant, Squiddly Diddly and others.

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The world of Scooby-Doo is wild and wacky and has continued to grow over the past fifty years. Everything from the theme songs to the monsters to the format of the characters have quickly become iconic fixtures in pop culture. It's hard to deny the incredible reputation of Scooby and the Mystery Gang as they continue to grow to this day. And as there's such a long history following Scooby-Doo, many fans have seen quick glimpses into his family tree. Where does he come from? How did he meet Shaggy? And most interestingly, what does Scooby's family tree look like? Through different clues and characters sprinkled throughout the shows, there are several hints and connections fans can make to solve this mystery.

Scooby-Doo’s family tree is one of the quirkiest and most amusing elements of the long-running franchise, often used to introduce eccentric and memorable relatives of the titular Great Dane.

Many robots are featured in cartoons and animated series. These characters are often faster, stronger, and smarter than their human counterparts. They may stand against danger, or they might cause it. That being said, robots aren't always the smartest in the bunch. The fun about robots is the many different creative ways that they appear. Fans often flock to robot characters due to the way they perceive and interact with their worlds.

Some iconic robots have been around for decades. Their popularity allows them to return to the small screen due to constant remakes or reboots of their original series. This is a testament to how loved they are, whether they are the heroes of their narratives, the villains, or fall somewhere in the morally ambiguous middle. Robots are always a great concept, especially as the modern world progresses into more advanced technology.

Updated by Alex Roush on December 22, 2024:...

Doug Widley 1964 animated series "Jonny Quest," animated by Hanna-Barbera, only lasted 26 episodes, but for Gen-Xers, it may seem like a lot more. Thanks to a series of sweet, sweet syndication deals, along with the clever remixing and repackaging of the company's 1960s and 1970s shows, Hanna-Barbera cartoons remained in reruns for decades, allowing new generations to grow up watching "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?," "The Flintstones," and, uh, "Jabberjaw." For kids of the 1980s, not a Saturday slipped past without several Hanna-Barbera shows making their way into our eyeballs, often entirely by accident.

"Jonny Quest" always seemed to make its way into my generation's cartoon rotation, and many viewers my age became very fond of the show's chintzy, stilted animation, thick-lines drawing style, and stock "laser" sound effects. The premise was the stuff of boy's adventure novels: Jonny Quest (Tim Matheson) was an 11-year-old wunderkind who was skilled in martial arts,...

Scooby-Doo has become such an iconic cartoon character that he has managed to stay relevant for generations. Kids of all ages and adults who grew up with Scooby-Doo still have a lot of love for the Scooby-Doo franchise and find comfort in all of its adaptations. Scooby-Doo wouldn't be where it is today if not for the success of the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-1978) animated series.

This creative series follows a group of four mystery solvers and their talking dog, Scooby-Doo. Originally, the group of friends was simply referred to as "the Gang," but they received the official title "Mystery Inc." in Scooby-Doo and the Snowmen Mystery (1973). Each episode features a creepy monster or entity behind an eerie mystery for the Gang to solve. While Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma are the stars of the show, the "monsters" they face are just as iconic.

The Mummy of...

This article contains a brief mention of suicide.

The holidays are a special time filled with joy and warmth. One of the top activities that comes to mind during this festive season is the tradition of watching holiday movies. Whether originating on the big or small screen, these specials have been a source of comfort and happiness for generations, which is a perfect way to get into the holiday spirit. Some prefer to watch them with loved ones on Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, while others spread the joy over the November to December time frame, keeping the Christmas spirit alive.

One of the interesting things about films in this genre is that many titles have become extremely popular and timeless. Once viewers latch onto these films and become favorites, they are added to the list of movies that must be watched yearly, almost like a tradition. From very early movies...

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was a unique and bold new take on the Scooby-Doo story. The show followed the gang as kids, solving hilarious crimes and discovering spooky monsters. While it wasnt a new idea to create a TV show about the younger versions of popular characters, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo absolutely succeeded where others fell short. It delivered a fun Saturday morning cartoon for all ages. The series expanded the formula into new territories, emulating what was some of the best cartoon comedy at the time. Fans still look back at the show as one of the best today. Not to mention, it has the best theme song in the entire franchise.

The show was able to preserve elements that made Scooby-Doo and the gang great, but also bring new ideas to the table that would stick with the franchise for decades to come. The franchise's formula is lovingly...

Quick Links Who Was the Original Scrappy-Doo? Who Is Velma's New Scrappy-Doo? What Is Scrappy-Doo's Endgame? Why Did Edna & Sophie Work With Velmas Scrappy-Doo? Velma Returned in a Halloween Special

The following contains spoilers for Velma Season 2, now streaming on Max.

Most fans of the Scooby-Doo franchise know the main cast to be the sleuths from Mystery Inc. There's Fred, Velma, Daphne, and, of course, Shaggy and his iconic dog, Scooby-Doo. However, there is also his nephew, Scrappy-Doo, a stubborn hero who uses "puppy power" to crack riddles.

In Season 2 of Velma, Scrappy-Doo makes his debut in a massive way. However, far from being the infamously vexing pup he's commonly known to be, he takes a very dark turn. In the process, Scrappy-Doo becomes a villain and wreaks havoc in Crystal Cove, albeit due to injustice that was meted out to him in his creation.

Updated by Alex Roush...

There's good news for Scooby-Doo fans looking to relive some nostalgia from the late '80 and early '90s. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is now streaming on Max, and the series turns what you know and love about the franchise on its head. Instead of featuring the Mystery Inc. crew in their adulthood, the show ages everyone down to their childhood. Instead of being a fully grown dog, Scooby-Doo is a puppy in this series, as the name suggests.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Release Date September 10, 1988Main Genre AnimationCast Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Carl Steven, Kellie Martin, Scott Menville Expand

The show ran for three seasons and had just 27 episodes total, but it became a cult classic that continued to air on channels such as Cartoon Network throughout the 2000s. Sadly, the show was Don Messick's last time voicing Scooby before passing away in 1997.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is the eighth iteration of the franchise,...

The adventures of The Smurfs will continue in the upcoming third season of the animated Nickelodeon series. Season 3 will premiere on Monday, Sept. 2, but fans can get an early sneak peek now.

Ahead of the debut of Season 3 on Nickelodeon, Cbr has a new image and clip to reveal. They come from the Season 3 opener, titled "The Great Smurfs Games." The photo, seen above, showcases Papa Smurf looking a bit bewildered. More from the episode can be seen in the clip, which takes a look at the games getting started with the different teams of Smurfs getting introduced. Fans can watch the sneak peek preview below.

Related 10 Most Nostalgic Nickelodeon Games

Often regarded as pure nostalgia, Nickelodeon has produced plenty of games, raising the question of which iconic titles are worth revisiting.

The Olympic-themed Season 3 opener will be a two-part episode. The official episode logline for "The Great Smurfs Games" reads,...

Greg Berlanti returns to his roots with a new Netflix series, drawing inspiration from his time working with Hanna-Barbera legends. Developing a modern Scooby-Doo project is all about capturing the essence and spirit of the iconic franchise for a new generation. Stay tuned for the upcoming Netflix series, as Berlanti and his team take their time crafting the perfect story for the greatest Dane in cartoon history.

Scooby-Doo is set to make a big return to live-action in a new Netflix series being developed by Arrowverse producer Greg Berlanti. While the producer has plenty of experience dealing with big IPs and iconic characters from his work on the interconnected DC universe, the recent reaction to the Max series Velma has proven that working on a modern Scooby-Doo project can be a tricky thing to navigate. However, in a new interview, Berlanti has laid out why the new series is in good hands,...

Have you ever noticed how Tommy from Rugrats sounds just like one of the Powerpuff Girls? Or that Scooby-Doo and Astro from The Jetsons speak very similar dog languages?

Hollywood’s voice-acting community is full of really talented people who can churn out a bunch of different voices, but that doesn’t mean they don’t occasionally have characters that end up sounding exactly alike (it doesn’t help that this group of performers is relatively small).

To that end, here are 10 sets of cartoon characters whose voices are practically interchangeable…

10 Scooby-Doo and Astro

The Jetsons, which debuted as a prime-time show in 1962, is considered a classic today, but it didn’t gain that status until the 1980s when it re-debuted on Saturday mornings with new episodes. And so, when Scooby-Doo came along in 1969, six years after The Jetsons was canceled, voice actor Don Messick thought nothing of re-using Astro...

Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new Japanese anime series, Go-Go Mystery Machine, featuring Scooby-Doo and the gang in Japan. The new series is part of a push to expand anime production, aiming to reach the elusive 18 to 30-year-old audience. Despite some recent criticism, Scooby-Doo continues to captivate audiences with new adventures and spinoffs on various platforms.

Since its inception in 1969, the Scooby-Doo franchise has been delighting audiences that have been tuning in for decades to see who will be unmasked as the villain in the gang's latest mystery. While the series has gone through a number of animation changes over the years, theres one style that it has never been rendered in... Japanese anime. All that is about to change with the release of Go-Go Mystery Machine, which was announced on June 12, 2024.

As per ComicBook, Warner Bros. Discovery announced the new series along with the news that Adventure Time, Regular Show,...

To quote Space Ghost himself, "I'll be dead long before you were born, and I'll be dead long before you'll be dead."

In 1994, producer Mike Lazzo donned a pith helmet, filled his arms with machetes, and trekked into the darkest corners of the bleak, terrifying Hanna-Barbera cartoon library. In the depths, he re-discovered a long-forgotten, one-season animated series from 1966 called "Space Ghost," a superhero show about a white-clad, cape-wearing starship captain who fought bud-like villains in the inky void of the cosmos. Space Ghost, voiced by Gary Owens, could pass through walls and oversaw a pair of sidekicks named Jan (Ginny Tyler) and Jace (Tim Matheson) as well as a chimp named Blip (Don Messick). 

Like most of Hanna-Barbera's output, "Space Ghost" was strange and awful. 20 years later, reruns of shows like "Space Ghost" were increasingly enjoyed exclusively by college students under the influence of potent smokables. One would be...

The Scooby-Doo franchise is heading to Netflix with a new live-action series, aiming to redeem the brand's recent missteps in Max's Velma series. Despite decades of success, Scooby has never had his own live-action series until now, produced by Greg Berlanti for Warner Bros. Television. This re-imagined live-action drama has the potential to recapture fans' love, with the success hinging on strong character casting and production execution.

The Scooby-Doo franchise is returning to live-action, with a new series based on the mystery-solving canine and his gang of friends heading to Netflix. Although Scooby-Doo is one of the longest-running IPs in animated history, the latest incarnation in Max series Velma has not exactly been endearing itself to long-term fans of the Mystery Inc. team, but this new series could perhaps be about to right many wrongs.

Scooby-Doo made his first appearance in 1969s Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, going on to appear in many more TV shows,...

Will Hanna and Joe Barbera might be credited for popularizing a form of animation that allowed it to be produced at a tremendously rapid clip. Looking at the producing pair's early works like "The Huckleberry Hound Show" and "The Quick Draw McGraw Show," one can see "limited animation" at work. That is: characters were designed in such a way that only parts of them would need to be animated to complete a scene. Faces were conceived at three-quarters, letting characters look to the side or full front depending only on their eyes. Necks were covered by ascots or ties, allowing heads to be animated while bodies remained static. 

Because of this design, Hanna-Barbera could produce multiple animated series on a notoriously fast TV production schedule. Hanna-Barbera exploded in the late 1950s, and dominated Saturday morning through the early 1980s. 

The crown jewel in their output was, of course, "The Flintstones,...

Quick Links How Scooby-Doo Gave Kids A Procedural Scooby-Doo Spawned Decades Of Copycats The X-Cops Formula Became A TV Favorite Carl Sagan Praised Scooby-Doo For Encouraging Skepticism Scooby-Doo Has One Of TV's Strongest Legacies

In 1969, Hanna-Barbera struck TV gold through the success of their latest Saturday-morning cartoon, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?. Revolving around the weekly adventures of a talking dog and his mystery-solving friends, the series emphasized detective work, intriguing monsters, and skepticism. Successfully blending horror and mysteries with a dose of science fiction, the series helped create one of TV's greatest formulas.

Scooby-Doo was released in 1969 and quickly proved to be a hit, so much so that it became the face of Hanna-Barbera, which was no stranger to Saturday morning cartoons. It wasn't long before the Scooby formula dominated kids' entertainment, with the 1970s and '80s seeing a plethora of copycat shows. However, in the 1990s, the formula...

Eomer Eadig, 18th King of Rohan, played a key role in restoring the kingdom to peace and prosperity after his heroic actions. Eomer's divine leadership and gallant warrior skills earned him the name "Blessed War Horse" in the lore of Rohan. Following Eomer's death, his legacy was carried on by his son Elfwine, keeping the alliance between Rohan and Gondor alive.

As The Lord of the Rings: The War for Rohirrim approaches its December 2024 release, it's worth wondering where some of the most glaringly absent characters have gone since Peter Jackson's landmark movie trilogy concluded. In the case of Eomer Eadig, played by Karl Urban in the award-winning fantasy trilogy, the 18th King of Rohan was crowned at the end of The Return of the King. Although his time on the throne was not explored in detail, the character's lasting contributions to the Rohirrim remain a valuable part of...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Blu-ray from Scream Factory

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey will be released on Blu-ray on April 9 via Scream Factory. Capitalizing on the public domain status of A.A. Milne’s beloved children’s character, the film grossed $5.2 million worldwide on a budget of less than $100,000.

The British slasher is written and directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield. Craig David Dowsett, Chris Cordell, Amber Doig-Thorne, Nikolai Leon, Maria Taylor, Natasha Rose Mills, and Danielle Ronald star. A sequel is due out this year.

“Something’s Wrong With Piglet: Making Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” is included as a special feature along with the theatrical trailer.

Goosebumps Vinyl Soundtrack from Enjoy the...

Created by Ton Ruegger and overseen by executive producer Steven Spielberg, "Tiny Toon Adventures" debuted in September of 1990, marking a sea change in mainstream TV animation. "Tiny Toons," tapping into 1990s trends toward self-awareness, regularly addressed its own status as a cartoon show, and the characters would frequently give side-eyes to the audience, extract scripts on camera, or even exit their animation cels to cause havoc for the animators. The show's regular obliteration of the fourth wall reflected — and guided — the prevailing winking sarcasm of the 1990s, making it (and I am not exaggerating) a vital and definitive text of the decade. It's no coincidence that it landed the same year as Richard Linklater's "Slacker."

"Tiny Toons" was striking, funny, and launched an entire series of notable Spielberg-backed 1990s cartoons like "Animaniacs," "Histeria!," and "Freakazoid!"

The characters on "Tiny Toons" were largely all distaff "youth" counterparts of established Looney Tunes characters.

Charles Dawson Butler was one of the biggest names in the early days of voice acting. He developed a talent for impressions in order to combat his shyness, which helped him get plenty of work in radio and vaudeville. After serving in the US Navy during World War II, he returned to voicing numerous characters in animated shorts before becoming one of the main voice actors for Hanna-Barbera alongside his friend, the equally talented Don Messick.

In 1984, a lot of laws about what was and wasn't allowed in children's TV programming began to loosen. Throughout the decade, more and more companies became incredibly brazen about including advertising content directly into their TV shows, transforming many shows into 30-minute commercials for toys. An '80s child would watch a show, knowing they could soon hound their parents to buy them the toy counterparts of their favorite characters. This branding became deeply insidious, and many children of the 1980s grew up with a deep and abiding nostalgia for their favorite toy ads. Artistry, character, writing, storytelling, and mythology were all distant, tertiary concerns during this era, and the bulk of animated shows from the '80s are deeply, deeply terrible as a result.

The Transformers toy line was launched in 1984 after Hasbro repurposed multiple robot molds from a Japanese toy line. The Transformers were robots who could be...

When word got out that HBO Max was working on a Velma origin story, fan responses were all over the place. It's not that "Scooby-Doo" fans dislike the four-eyed, orange-clad investigator who's been integral to Mystery Inc. since it first began in 1969. Rather, the hesitant responses to "Velma" were related to other aspects of the Mindy Kaling-led show, including its adult humor and violence, changes in animation style and characterization, and a conspicuous lack of the crime-solving Great Dane himself.

But if you look closely at the history of the long-running franchise, it's clear that for as long as Scooby and the gang have been on the air in some form or another, the shows have been repeatedly reinventing. And while that constant reinvention has often caused cyclical, ahistorical outrage from picky viewers, it's also the key to what makes "Scooby-Doo" so satisfying after all these years.

The 1969 Classic...

"The Last Unicorn," which just turned 40, is a wild ride! It's a delightfully weird film, strange in a way that movies for children just aren't anymore. Perhaps that's because each generation seems more careful with their kids than the last. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I learned a lot from "The Last Unicorn." While some of its lessons may have been over my head at the time, I still think newer kids' films could stand to take a page or two from its book.

With a screenplay by Peter S. Beagle, based on his novel of the same name, "The Last Unicorn" hit theaters in 1982. The reason it makes such a strange children's movie is probably because it wasn't initially intended for children at all. However, that hasn't stopped a generation of kids from falling in love with the unicorn's story. Let's look at some of the weirder...

Click here to read the full article.

On Sept. 23, 1962, ABC debuted The Jetsons at 7:30 pm to television audiences. Like the Stone Age Flintstones, the futuristic animated family sitcom would become an enduring franchise for producers Hanna-Barbera. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review of the first episode, “Rosey The Robot,” is below:

The Jetsons is based on the same premise as The Flintstones, with the difference that the projection is in the future instead of the past. A family situation comedy, done in animation (and for those with color sets, color), the new Hanna-Barbera production should attract a good audience.

The jokes are familiar, but the setting gives them novelty and an added dimension, and cartooning is certainly suited to the TV screen.

Larry Markes’ script for the initial episode lightly sketched in the characters, mother, father, two children (boy and girl) of the Jetsons, a 21st Century family.

Jokes...

Roughly 50 years after the first episode of “The Jetsons” premiered, fans are gearing up to celebrate the birth of George Jetson, which according to lore, is July 31, 2022. But is that really his birthday?

On Thursday, a hawk-eyed fan pointed out that “someone is about to give birth” to the show’s main character, via a fan site listing the family patriarch’s exact birthdate.

The animated sitcom created by William Hannah and Joseph Barbera took place in the 21st century. Although no mention to a specific year was ever made in the show, promotional materials and articles from the time explained that it was set exactly 100 years in the future, according to MeTV.

Further evidence can be found in the episode “Test Pilot,” which aired Dec. 30, 1962. When Jetson’s doctor tells him he “should live to be 150,” he replies, “I’ve got 110 good years ahead of me!” – making him 40 years old.

If there was any doubt that the future is here (for better or worse), just remember that you are now living in George Jetson’s lifetime. Animation fans are celebrating an important milestone this weekend, as several savvy Twitter users noticed that the Spacely Sprockets employee, husband to Jane, and father of June and Elroy, is said to be born on July 31, 2022. That still gives us 40 years before the events of the show begin, so there’s no need to feel bad about not having flying cars yet.

“The Jetsons” famously followed a middle class family living in Orbit City in a chrome-tinged future where robots allow humans to live leisurely. It was conceived as a companion show to “The Flintstones,” which famously reimagined 1950s sitcom tropes from shows like “The Honeymooners” in a Stone Age world full of cavemen and dinosaurs. “The Jetsons” took the inverse approach, making a...

Don Jurwich, a longtime writer-director-producer at Hanna-Barbera and Marvel Productions, died July 13 of natural causes. He was 87.

Starting his career in animation as a layout and background artist, Jurwich worked his way up in storyboarding, eventually becoming a producer and director.

While working at Hanna-Barbera, Jurwich produced and directed “Scooby Doo,” “The Superfriends,” “Captain Caveman, “Richie Rich,” “Fonz and the Happy Days Gang,” along with one hour prime-time special, “Scooby Goes Hollywood.”

At Marvel, Jurwich directed “Spiderman and His Amazing Friends.” He also produced 85 half-hour episodes of “G.I. Joe,” along with the miniseries “G.I. Joe: The Movie,” which was later released as a feature film.

Over the course of his 40-year career, Jurwich contributed to animated series including “Road Runner,” “The Pink Panther,” “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “The Flintstones,” “George The Jungle,” “Yogi Bear,” “Tom & Jerry” — along with their mini-me successor, the “Tom & Jerry Kids Show.” Jurwich also...

Babs and Buster Bunny, Plucky Duck, Hamton J. Pig, and their crazy friends are returning. The animated stars of the 1990s Tiny Toon Adventures series are returning in a new show called Tiny Toons Looniversity. HBO Max and Cartoon Network Series have ordered the new series from Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation.

There's no word yet if the original Tiny Toon Adventures series' voice actors will return for the new incarnation. They include Charlie Adler, Tress MacNeille, Kath Soucie, Maurice Lamarche, Frank Welker, Rob Paulsen, Danny Cooksey, Cree Summer, Jeff Bergman, Candi Milo, Noel Blanc, Jim Cummings, John Kassir, Bob Bergen, and Greg Burson. Legends Joe Alaskey, Don Messick, June Foray, and Stan Freberg also worked on the original 1990-95 series but have since passed away.

Two seasons have been ordered but there's no word on when the show will launch. A...

Features the voices of: Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, Tracy Morgan, Frank Welker | Written by Matt Lieberman, Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott | Directed by Tony Cervone

Since childhood, Shaggy Rogers, Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, and Daphne Blake have been solving mysteries across the globe accompanied by Shaggy’s pet dog, Scooby-Doo. But their greatest mystery together comes in a turn of events when they run into the Blue Falcon, who is trying to stop his arch-rival, Dick Dastardly, from causing a global “dogpocalypse” by unleashing the great Cerberus upon the world.

A reboot of the Scooby-Doo franchise, Scoob! starts right back at the beginning, when Shaggy and Scooby first met, then the Mystery Incorporated gang were, well… incorporated, Though to be fair, you hear the phrase reboot these days and audiences tend to zone out – after all there...

Features the voices of: Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, Tracy Morgan, Frank Welker | Written by Matt Lieberman, Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott | Directed by Tony Cervone

Since childhood, Shaggy Rogers, Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, and Daphne Blake have been solving mysteries across the globe accompanied by Shaggy’s pet dog, Scooby-Doo. But their greatest mystery together comes in a turn of events when they run into the Blue Falcon, who is trying to stop his arch-rival, Dick Dastardly, from causing a global “dogpocalypse” by unleashing the great Cerberus upon the world.

A reboot of the Scooby-Doo franchise, Scoob! starts right back at the beginning, when Shaggy and Scooby first met, then the Mystery Incorporated gang were, well… incorporated, Though to be fair, you hear the phrase reboot these days and audiences tend to zone out – after all there...

“Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you?” It’s not only the refrain from the classic cartoon theme song of what is arguably Hanna-Barbera’s crown jewel, but it’s also a question many movie fans have been asking for years. Though the franchise has had plenty of hilarious and inventive modern reinterpretations along with loads of home video movie releases, it has been 16 years since the dog detective headlined a big budget Hollywood movie. So that’s why the announcement of a new animated feature, Scoob!, was so exciting. Like pretty much every movie this year, the Covid-19 crisis derailed this film’s hopes for a theatrical release, but Scoob! is still headed to our small screens and it’s a goofy and gorgeous good time.

It’s best to go into Scoob! with your expectations in the right place. This is a Scooby-Doo movie. As in, it’s a movie about Scooby-Doo.

At long last a beautifully restored and mastered selection of a number of cartoon king Tex Avery’s brilliant, innovative and (most of all) hilarious MGM shorts comes to Blu-ray via the Warner Archive, with the implied promise of more volumes to come. Some of his greatest cartoons are included, and many of these shorts have likely not looked and sounded so good since their original theatrical release. This is a virtual godsend for the director’s legion of fans, and a worthwhile introduction for those yet unfamiliar with Avery’s uniquely zany oeuvre.

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1943-1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 138 min. / Street Date February 18, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Voice characterizations: Not credited onscreen, but voices include Bill Thompson, Frank Graham, Kent Rogers, Sara Berner, Daws Butler, John Brown, Wally Maher, John Wald, Patrick McGeehan, Dick Nelson, Don Messick, Billy Bletcher, Connie Russell, Tex...

Chicago – Who are the voices in our lives that really matter? If you were a cartoon fan in the 1980s and ‘90s then it was Rob Paulsen, the source for Pinky (“Pinky & the Brain”), Yakko (“Animaniacs”) and a myriad of others. Recently Paulsen beat cancer, which threatened his career, and he tells the story in the new book … “Voice Lessons.”

The subtitle of “Voice Lessons” is “How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky and an Animaniac Saved My Life” (written with Michael Fleeman) and to know Rob Paulsen is to realize his deep appreciation and love behind his creations. But beyond that passion, he also is endeared to the admirers of his work, the millions of children and now grown-ups who continue to embrace his characters and the voice behind them. Beating his cancer gave Paulsen a new purpose in his life, to use his gifts “…on the biggest scale I can.

Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series

Blu ray

Warner Archive

1964/ 1.33:1 / Each Episode 25 min.

Starring Tim Matheson, Don Messick

Music by Hoyt Curtin

Directed by William Hanna, Joe Barbera

Though the heartland was nearing a showdown between the Masters of War and the Age of Aquarius, things were relatively status quo in 1964, Beatles or no Beatles. Dad could still be found daydreaming over the garish macho fantasies of Men’s Action magazine while Junior was in the rec room hypnotized by Jonny Quest – a weekly cartoon show flaunting the same retro thrills found in the old man’s rags but aimed at the sandbox set.

Jonny lasted just one season, from September of 1964 to March of ‘65, but the combination of pulp fiction mayhem with junior league heroics would transfix a generation.

Jonny’s producers, William Hanna and Joesph Barbera, made their move to the small screen in 1957 when MGM shuttered...

On September 18, 1964, a serious animated adventure series, demonstrating cartoons didn’t have to always be comical such as The Flintstones (still airing then on ABC). Instead, Jonny Quest captured the sense of exploration Americans were longing for thanks to the Mercury astronauts and the rising tide of espionage films, headed by James Bond. However, Jonny was a young boy, making him an ideal feature for the Friday at 7:30 p.m. slot.

While the 26 episodes are all that were produced, the show’s overall quality proved influential to subsequent generations of animators, comic book storytellers, and audiences. It has pretty much remained in syndication for the last forty years. Jonny Quest remained the benchmark for dramatic animated fare for decades, enjoying brief runs as a comic book (notably Comico’s 1980s run).

The series has been collected and polished to a brilliant shine on a just-released Jonny Quest: The Complete Series Blu-ray from Warner Archives,...

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “While Bill Clinton pays the sax…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,...

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “We have pay for play contracts…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,...

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “There’s baloney in our slacks…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as the voice of Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,...

Her voice brought one of the most iconic characters in animation to life every week in people's living rooms, forever cementing her place in TV history and making it all the more difficult to share the news that Heather North, the voice of Daphne in several Scooby-Doo TV series and movies, has passed away.

Numerous outlets, including The Hollywood Reporter, have reported the news of North's passing at the age of 71. According to Jodie Mann, a close friend of the North family, Heather passed away on November 30th at her home in Studio City after a long battle with an undisclosed illness.

Heather North began her journey to voice acting immortality when she took the vocal reins of Daphne in the second season of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! in 1970. A key member of the cartoon mystery-solving team (and their vocal Great Dane) created by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Daphne would continue to...

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Tuesday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best show currently on TV?” can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: Who is your favorite voice actor for animated characters on TV? Why?

Dave Trumbore (@DrClawMD), Collider

My knee-jerk reaction was either Kevin Conroy or Mark Hamill for their roles as Batman/Bruce Wayne and The Joker, respectively, because “Batman: The Animated Series” is always on my mind. But thinking a moment more, my favorite voice actor (and arguably the best in the biz) is Frank Welker.

Read More:‘Big Mouth’ Season 1 Voice Cast: A Visual Guide To The Adult Voices Behind The Tweens

His name might not be a household one, but with over 800 credits and nearly 50 years in the industry, Welker’s voice definitely is.

After gestating in development for years as a live-action adaptation, Warner Bros.' animated adaptation of The Jetsons is now moving forward. The studio's Warner Animation Group has brought on Conrad Vernon, who most recently directed Sony's R-rated Sausage Party, to take the reins of this animated movie. The filmmaker has been brought on to develop the project, with an eye towards directing it himself. It isn't clear if he will be working with another writer or if he will write the script himself.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news today, with the filmmaker coming aboard keeping this project firmly entrenched within the Warner Animation Group banner. That wasn't always the case, though, with the studio previously trying to put together a Jetsons live-action movie for many years, with directors such as Adam Shankman and Robert Rodriguez attached to the project, with the later working from a script by The Goldbergs creator Adam F. Goldberg.

[caption id="attachment_51168" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Smurfs: The Lost Village image via Sony Pictures Animation./caption]

Tickled pink to be working blue, Sony Pictures Animation has announced the next Smurfs feature film, Smurfs: The Lost Village will hit theaters April 7, 2017. Watch a promo, below. The feature film is part of the Belgian Smurfs comics franchise. The Smurfs TV show ran on NBC from 1981 until it was cancelled in 1989. Smurfs: The Lost Village stars Demi Lovato as Smurfette; Mandy Patinkin as Papa Smurf; Rainn Wilson as Gargamel; Jack McBrayer as Clumsy; Danny Pudi as Brainy; and Joe Manganiello as Hefty.

After its NBC cancellation, Smurfs reruns aired on USA Network until 1993. Cartoon Network then ran them until 2003. In the Us, Cartoon Network's Boomerang still reruns The Smurfs TV series. The original series cast includes: Don Messick, Danny Goldman, Lucille Bliss, Frank Welker, Michael Bell, June Foray, Hamilton...

Sony Pictures Animation has brought on Homeland star Mandy Patinkin to voice Papa Smurf in their Untitled Smurfs Movie. Unlike 2011's The Smurfs and 2013's The Smurfs 2, which were live action/CGI animation hybrids, this Smurfs project will be fully animated, sticking closer to the original designs by creator Peyo. The project will give a new origin story to the Smurfs, and, while Papa Smurf is supposed to be "the wise paternal leader" of these tiny blue creatures, that will not always be the case.

Jonathan Winters voiced Papa Smurf in The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2, with Don Messick voicing the character in the original Smurfs animated TV series. Kelly Asbury (Gnomeo and Juliet, Shrek the Third) is directing from a script by Karey Kirkpatrick (The Secret World of Arrietty, Over The Hedge) and Chris Poche (Over The Hedge). Jordan Kerner is producing with Mary Ellen Bauder serving as co-producer.

The Hanna-Barbera machine was showing its age by the 1970s. After producing countless hours of programming for the three networks’ Saturday morning schedules, it was clear that the creative juices were drying up. They were also struggling to come with creative variations on the talking animals theme, especially as the hand-wringing parents were getting increasingly vocal about violence depicted on programming intended for impressionable children.

All of which may well explain the not-terribly-original Help…It’s the Hair Bear Bunch series that ran on CBS from 1971-1974 and has been only sporadically seen since. Still, that has not stopped Warner Archive from collecting the complete series and releasing it in a three-disc set.

All the veteran animators, writers, and voice artists gave us a professionally looking and sounding series. It just wasn’t very original or funny or topical. The closest we get is Hair Bear, with his afro, at...

According to Variety, Warners is ready to answer the age-old question, “Scooby Doo, where are you?” The studio is prepping an animated feature for the world’s most famous sandwich-eating dog with the same producers that worked to bring the 2002 live-action/CGI hybrid to life. Charles Roven and Richard Suckle will be producing from a script from Matt Lieberman who recently wrote the Short Circuit reboot. The studio isn’t revealing the concept, but they won’t get away with it if the meddling internet has anything to say. The character has been through a ton of incarnations (the best, of course, involving the Harlem Globetrotters), but anytime someone plans new Scooby Doo, there’s a potential for goofy greatness. Naturally it’s difficult to see new stuff without Don Messick voicing Scoobs, but maybe there’s a great vocal talent that can do the character justice. Neil Fanning was passable in the live-action movies, and...

Top 10 Aliya Whiteley 20 Aug 2013 - 06:55

Zoinks! Aliya provides a rundown of 10 enjoyable Scooby-Doo animated movies. Scrappy isn't invited...

For a Great Dane, Scooby-Doo has had an impressive innings. He’s now 44 years old, and has been through a number of mediums: TV series, videogames, stage plays, and many movies. In all that time the Us version of Scooby has been voiced by only five actors (the original actor, Don Messick, played him from 1969 to 1994), and there remains something so familiar and reassuring about Scooby, even as the storylines and the entanglements of the Scooby gang change around him. Nowadays in Mystery Incorporated Velma may be on/off dating Shaggy, and Fred and Daphne may be having problems with their relationship, but Scooby remains as cowardly and hungry as ever.

The big screen movie escapade of Scooby-Doo (2002) involved Sarah Michelle Gellar as a black-belted Daphne and Rowan Atkinson as the main (okay,...

Beloved film and TV actor Jonathan Winters passed away last night at the age of 87, at his home in Montecito, California. The comedian passed from natural causes while surrounded by friends and family members.

Born in 1925 in Dayton, Ohio, Jonathan Winters' career was launched after he won a talent contest, which lead to a local TV series in the early 1950s. He became a fixture on the stand up comedy circuit and on The Tonight Show, where he was a favorite of hosts Jack Paar and Johnny Carson. He also made many appearances on The Carol Burnett Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He launched his own series The Jonathan Winters Show in 1967.

He has appeared in several films such as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Loved One, and also starred as the son of Robin Williams and Pam Dawber on the TV series...